Can opener



l0a. zo, 1925. 1,558,372

. T. A. KILLMAN CAN OPENER Filed Jan. a. 1925 Patented ,i I UNITI-:nv.sT-iiTlssraTENT;Lorsica; A

To all whom t may concern: one another gis; of such character that theBe it known that I, THOMAS A. KILLMAN, can is not rotated during thismovement, a citizen of the United States, residing-*at therebymateriallyv reduoing the pressure Nashville, in the county ofDavidsonand which is requiredtofforce the canto the can 60- State of Tennessee,have invented; certain opener since this ffressure is all applied at newand useful Improvements in Can a single point en t e can andnotdistributed, Openers, of which the following isa speci-' along a'-portion'of the vcircumflereiice due ficatig'n, to the shifting of thecan@i This invention relatesto can openers and These' and otherobjectsff attain by the 65 l0 more articularly to that type of canopenerl construction shown, 'in theI accompanyin inclu ing a rotarycutting disk and a rodrawings, wherein. for the purpose of i" tatingfeeding" device by means of which the lustration is shown a preferredembodiment can is shifted for engagement with thecutf of my inventionand wherein ting disk, Figure 1 ,isA a side elevation partially in I'l0:An im ortant'object of this invention is section -ofacan openerconstructed in ac7 to provide a device of this character in cordancewith my invention, a can being which the cutting disk is adapted toremove shown in position. and the. cutter. and gfeedthe top of the canby severing such top at Vingl rollers b ing shown `in operative rel'aapoint adjacent its outer circumference as; tion;' -g' 75 .differentiatedfrom those can openers ref Figure 2 is a .rear elevation of the canmoving the can top b severing the side opener,k the feed. roller4operating handle wall of the can immediately adjacent thaibein removedand' the parts being shown top,v jCan openers `of the latter v typearein t e .operativeposition;' i faulty in that either the can openeiinust Figure`3 isa similar view be rotated bodily ahoutY the can whilethe the inoperative or can receiving osition;

can is'seatedupon a support or must be Figure 4 isa .sectional viewsowing the ffrotate'd upon a support ywith relation to relative positionsof the cutter and feed the can due to the factthat no means are roller;and

provided for holding the can once the top4 Figure 5 is a detailedsectional view show- 85. is severed. Accordinglya more specific obin temounting of the cutten l fleet of the invention is to provide means foreferring now lmore particularly to the olding the canafter the topissevered.- l drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a ver- 'A urther objectof the invention is the Atical support, preferably having means atrovis'ionof a can opener of the character its lower end, as indicated at11, whereb f 'it 90 A escrihed and of such construction that the. may beclampedtoatableor suitable bracliet cap is held level at all times .sothat the con- The upperv end ofthe support has an inclinedtents'-tiiereofwill ndt he spilled as the can extension l2 having anopeningl 13 formed top is seve'red'or, removed 'and in which-ittherethroughA throughr which is directed a is unnecessary, 'for theoperator to support bearing 14 having a flange 15 through which 9 5 thecan in any mamienduririg the cutting are directed securing elementslattaching operation or'after such cutting operation isV the bearing-tothe-extension at' the sides of completed untili itis-'Jdesired to removethe the o ening.4 Through this bearing is dican'from'the" can opener.recte a spindle 17 to one end of which is.

of the partsin A still further objectif f {the invention secured acutterldisklS, one face-'of which 150 45 is the' provision' of acan-opener includin Va is hevelled to provide the sharpened cuttingcutting devicejandia'rotatiii feeding device, ed e 19. .The angle, ofthe extension 12 is one of said elements beingga'diustable'toward sucvthat this bevelled faceis substantially the other to `force the cutte'through the vertica1lydisposed'-andgparallels the upper 59 provided Vfor locking thecutter in this-fenthereto.:A e cutting'edgefY is thusvthrown gagedposition,tr thus eliminating-tiredness at an angle to thevertical' sup ort for a., sity olioldingga,lever or." thermeansfforpurpose hereinafter to appears. Xt opposite maintaining theen agemiiftheeuttcr.; sides of the extension 12, the u 'pper end of' A stillv:further ko ject ofthe invention is the support has horizontallydirected arms 110 isoprovide 'al device of this `jcharacteri in 2Oarranged at opposite sides of the cutwhichthe--inovemeiit ofthe elementstoward 18,A

material of the canand inffwhich means are endof thejsupport inlspacedrelation m5 tical support hereinbefore spindle 26 may is so arrangedupper edge of the knu ing is directed a spin the link upon VerticallyIbelow the opening 13,' the ver- 10 is formed wit a vertically extendingslot 21. Into this slot extends one end of a bearing v22'carried by Thebearing 22 is similar to the bearmg 14 described having a flange 2attached to opening 2 5 ameter of the bearing. ,Through the beardle 26to one end of which issecured a knurled disk 27 confronting the verticaltion thereto and at the opposi e end of which is secured a handle Hwhereby .the be rotated. When the link that thebearing is at of thevertical slot, the lower disk and the upper edge of the knurled diskoverlap, theouter face of the knurled disk being in spaced relation tothe' adjacent bevelled face of the cutter 18 and paralleling the same,the space between these adjacent' faces is slightly lgreater than thesize and thickness of tin or inarily emloyed in the constructionof`storage cans. When the link 23 is so arranged that the bearing is atthe lowe end of the slot, the led disk is vertically s aced below thelow r edge of the cutter disk a 'distance such that the rim R of a can Cmaybe inserted therebetween'.

An operating lever 28 is provided, the up er end of which has securedthereto a disli 29 rotatably fitting an opening 30 formed in the link.The disk is of the same or slightly greater, thickness than thethickness of the link and is pivoted together with the handle to thevergical support by a pivot 3l engaging the desk eccentrically thereof.The engagement of the pivot with the disk and the length of the lever 28are such that the link, when from the position A of Figure 3 toitheposition B of Figure 2, the link is vertically shifted and moves thebearing fronn the lower to the upper end of the slet thereof. Attentionis directed to the fact that the cam or eccentric 29 is in effect onelink of a toggle mechanism of which the link 23 forms the second link.centric 29 is rigidly connected the operating lever 28 of this togglemechanism. While an eccentric and link have been employed, it will beobvious that the substitution of an actual link for this eccentric iswell within thescope of the present invention.

At the saine time,

upperl end edge of the cutter the point of pivot of the disk will bemoved from one side of a line connecting the 'axial centers of the pivot31 and'spindle 26 to the opposite side thereof. When in the positionvB,the lower end. of thehandle cornes into engagement with the upper4surface of the attaching' bracket 11 so thatits movea link 23.

the' link 23 at the sides of an x formed through 'thelink The -slot isof a width equal to the outside disupportrand ins naced relathe..

\ tachment known to me yhandle is engaged the handlev is moved To thelink or ec a straight line.

ment inthe direction of the arrow is positively limited. It will beobvious that any strain placed upon thes indle'tendin to force the sainedownwardly. orfawayf'om the cutter d8 will"bedirectedfnpon alongi- 4-tudinal axis, of the'link andV `since' this link yis applying itspressure in i af direction such that if itis .inoved, the handle move inthe direction of the` arrow' when the handle is `in the positionA B1tliatythe knurled roller is locked .againstfanyinovement' whateveil with.relation tQ.- th'efPPrt o rv 'with relation to the cutter. y i

It will be obvious that ,whilelfhave eniployed a disk as a means 'ofproviding this latching .toggle movementjthat any Sultable type of-latching toggle might' bejem loyed with equal facilit although :theldis rovides the, most so id and rigid formfo atandwis preferred by me.It will also be obvious ythatsince the with the up r surface of theattaching bracket ll during rthefperiod when the can `vis locked inthecan opener and the cutting 'is beingperOrmed, a great deal ofthestressfis removed'from the pivot 31 and supported from the handle, thuspreventing too rapid wear and deterioration of this pivot. f y 1 yIn theuse of the device, the lever is Vfirst moved to the position A and atthis time, the cutter and knurled wheel are separated and the bitof rimR of the-can is inserted betweenthe cutter and knurled wheel. The

vhandle is then moved to the position B .and due to the great leverage,

p substantially .a camming, ,but little force is required to force thecutter through the tin of the top. Thenl the crank 11, which isconnected to the feed roller 27, vis turned, Aand due tothe fact'thatthe knurled feed roller engages the lower edge of'therim R, the can willbe caused to rotate, thus feeding the can to the cutter which cuts orsevers the head on a line close up against the inside wall of the can,thus vleaving Vno portion'of the head projecting inward 'which wouldinterfere with the removal of the contents of the can.

The crank is turned until the can has made" cutter and feed roller whichreleases the can so it can be removed from the.; machine. During theoperation 'the can isflocked in the machine and held suspended by it sothat is-does not need to be held by the operator. Attention is directedto the fact that the knurledwheel moves toward the cutter in a Thisknurled wheel hasv a flat outer face against which the wall of the canmay v rest and since the distance between adjacent faces of the -feedroller and cutter is but substantially equal to the thickness of thewall of the can,

kit-will be obvious that ,20 hereinbefore the can would onlybecaiableofvery slight tilting movementforward and away from the sup ort andtliiatilting movement would besuc that none'lof the li nid contents ofthe can would lie-spilled. he arms referredto act to prevent tilting ofthe axis of thecan in a plane paralone -of the other movement ischecked; `,This 1s an impor- A can opener and dull the cutter. directed.to the faetthat by the use of a ,lening th tion thereof in suc a planebringing the upper edge of its rim into contact with of the arms so thatthis tant feature of.- my construction in that it overcomes the tendencyto oscillation or tilting causedbyresult in spilling'lof'ythe contentsbut will cause the cutter to en""age in the rim ofthe can which wouldchec V'the operation ofthe Attention is device of this character, thetop lmay be entirely or partially'severed as is desiredand that the canafter thesevering of the'ftop will be supported `byits rim R and cannoescape therefrom .for 4the reason. thatV the inner face of this rimengages against' the adjacent inclined face ofthe cutter- 18. Attentionis furthem directed to the 'fact that the inclination'of-the cuttercauses' the same -toV leaner tilt toward the Acenter' of' the'can sothat it will' track around the candpro erly. Where these cutters areperpen icu arly set, therev is a' tendency of the cutter to cut acrossthe rim of the can whereas`if inclined at .the proper angle, 'it willengage only the head of the'can without cutting into the-rim. It will beobvious that any tendency to cut into the rim-causes a heavy resistanceand will'tend to rapidly dull the cutter. Whilcjff l'course, aperpendicularly set cutter may be caused to engage the top of the can insuliiciently spaced relation to the rim toA avoid this cutting into therim, it-is difficult 4to keep such cutaligned and furthermore, an.

ters properly inwardly eiztending` flange is left upon the top of thVcan rendering removal .of the contents'diiiicult.

Since obviously the `structure hereinis capable of a certain before setforth range of change and mcdiicationwitliout materiallyfdepartingfront-the s irit of my invention,I accordingly do not l it myself tosuch specific #structure exceptash-heifeincutting roller rotatablysupported atv the upper end ofthe support, a knurled feeding rollercarried by and vertically shift-able- `from the upon the support towardand awa er atj` the cutting roller, `said feeding rol upper limit of itsmovementV overlapping e supportil the can upon inclinapulling of thefeed' `roller and thereeistance of the `Acutter.

lpermitting the insertion of the therebetween, means for rotating thefeed-2' the cuttingroller, roller is at the upper-.limit of its travel.

cutting roller andat movement beingspac therefroma distance ing rollerand `between the lever and Ythe the cutting rolle and? at the lowerlimit of its movement-being space dtherefrom a distance permitting theinsertion of the can rim therebetween, means for rotating the feedingrollerand toggle mechanism for moving the feedin roller toward and awayfrom the cutting ro ler.

Ina can ,opener avertical'support, a 'cutting roller rotata ly supportedat the upper end of the support, a knurled feeding roller carried by andvertically shiftablc upoiit-lie su port toward andv away from thecutting rol er, said *feeding roller at the upper limit of its movementoverlapping the cutting roller and at the lower limit of its movementbeing spaced therefrom a distance permitting the insertion of the can'rim therebetween, means 'for rotating the feeding roller and togglemechanism for moving` the vfeeding roller toward" and 4away from thecutting roller, includin a levermovable in one direction 'to shift thefeeding roller'toward-the cutting roller, `inea-iis limit- -ing themovement ofthe lever in such direction when the'feedingroller is at theupper 90 limit of its travel, said `toggle mechanism i being such thatpressure a pliedto separate the feeding and cutting ro ers, when incutting position, tendsysto mov said lever in sai 1rection.f y 4 95 3.In a ycan opener ya-vertical support, a cutting roller rota'talylsupported at the upperend of the' support, `a :knurled feedingroller` carriedbyggaiid vertically shift-able upon the supporttoward andawa from the cutting'roller. saidfffe'eding roller at the upper llimitof its'imovement overlapping the cuttingroller andatxthe lower limit ofits movement being Vspaced therefrom a distance can rim 105 ing rollerand, toggle mechanism for moving the feeding roller toward and away fromlatchingawhen the cutting v In a can opener, a vertical support, acutting rollerl rotatably supported at the upper end ofthe support, aknurled feeding roller carried by. and `vertically shiftable upon thesuppol'tQWSl-rd and awa from the 115. cutting rol er, said feeding roler at thel upper limit of its4 ement overlapping the thegjlower limit ofits permitting the ins'eitipri of, the can rim-120 therebetween, meansfor vrotating the feedytoggle'irieclianisinfor movmg thekfeediii' vroler towardand away from the cutting-fro e-r, includingga'lever pivoted itothe supporta link fromwhieh the feed, ing roller is supported, apivotal connection link at a point spaced from the pivot of the lever.

5."In' a can opener, a vertical support, a cutting roller rotatablysupported at the .13

i upper end of the support, knurled feeding ,roller carried jby andtween the lever and the 'link at a point v spaced from the pivot of thelever, said pivotal connection vmoving froma point at one side of a lineconnectingtbe axis of rotation of theV feeding rollera'ii'dl the pivotto the opposite side thereof asgthe lever is moved -to shift the linkand feeding roller' from. onel limit of its movement to theoppositelimit thereof. .i Y s' 6. In a 4can opener, avertical support', acutting roller rotatably supported at the upper end of the support, aknurled feeding roller carriedby and vertically shiftable upon thesupport toward and away from the cutting roller, at the upperlimit'ofits movement overlapping the cutting roller vand at'the lowerlimit of its movement being spaced therefrom a the insertion of tliecanrim therebetween, means for rotating the feeding roller and togglemechanism for moving the feeding roller toward and away from the cuttingroller,v including a lever pivoted to the the feeding rollerissupported, a pivotal connection between at a pointv spaced from thepivoty of the ledistance permitting ver, said pivotal connectionmovingfrom a point at one side of a line connecting the axis of rotation of vthe feeding roller and the pivot to the op osite side thereof las thelever is moved to s the link and feeding roller from one limit of itsmovement `to the opposite limit thereof, andmeans limiting the lmovementof the lever' in a direction shifting the feeding roller toward 'thecuttingroller whenthe feeding roller is at the upper llimit of itsmovement.

7. Ina can opener, avertioal support, a cutting roller rotatablysupported at the upper end-of the support, a knurled feeding rollercarried" by' and vertically shiftable upon the support toward and awayfrom' the cutting roller, said feeding roller at the upper limit-of itsmovement cutting roller and at tlie lower limit of its movement beingspaced therefrom a distance permitting --the'l insertion of the can rimtherebetween, means for rotating the feeding roller .andtoggleinecha'nismfor movingtlie feeding roller toward Aand awayy fromofthe'can rim thereing roller and ing roller.

said feeding roller support, 'a link from which the llever `and the linkoverlapping the 'shiftable in ,a s t'raightline the cutting roller,including a lever pivoted to said support, a link having a bearingoperatin in the slot of the support, a spindle rotata le in said bearingand by which the feeding roller is carried, a handle engaged with thespindle for rotating the same and a disk secured to the levereccentrically of the pivot thereof and engaged in an opening formed insaid link.

8. In al can opener, a vertical support, a cutting rollervrotatable uponthe sup ort, a feeding roller for. engagement with t e under surface ofa can rim carried by the support and adjustably shiftable in a straightline toward and away from the axis ofthe cutting roller, means forrotating the feedmeans for-shifting the feed- 9. Iii a can opener,a'vertical support, a cutting roller rotatable upon the sup ort, a

`feeding roller yfor engagement with t e under surface of a can rimcarried by the supine` toward and away cutting roller, meansfor rotatingthe feeding roller and means for shifting the feed-` ing roller latchingthe feeding roller when said feeding and erative position. 10. In a canopener, a .vertical support, a cutting roller rotatable upon thesupport, a feeding rollerfor 'engagement with the under surface of a canrim carried by the support and adjustably shiftable in a straight linetoward and away from the axis of the cutting roller, means for rotatingthe feed-y ing roller and means for shifting the feed-- ing roller," thefeeding and cutting rollers when inoperativerelation havin-g opposedfaces, the opposed face of the cutting roller being at an inclination tothe cutting edge thereof. L

-11. In a can opener, a vertical support, a cutting roller rotatableupon the support, a feeding roller for engagenfent with the undersurface of a can rim carried by the suport" and adjustably shiftable ina sti a1g ine toward and away from the axis of the cutting roller, meansfor rotating the feeding roller, and means for shifting the feedingroller, said feeding and cutting rollers when in operative relationhaving spaced opposed faces, the space between said faces being greaterthan the thickness of a can wall below the rim thereof and less than thethickness of the wall at the rim.

12. In a-can opener, a vertical support, a cutting roller .rotatableupon Ithe support, a with the under surface of a can rim carried by thesupport and adjustably toward and away from the axis, of the Hcuttingroller, means for rotating the feeding roller, and means from the axisof the for shifting the feeding roller, said kfeeding ort andadjust-ably shiftable in a straight' cutting rollers are in opfeedingroller foi` engagement wall at the rim.

, port and adjustably engaged by saidmeans an nmsaava and cuttingrollers when in operative relation. having spaced opposed faces, posedface of the cutter rolle'r being at an inclination to the cutting edgethereof, the space between said faces bein `greater than thethickness'o-acan wall elow the rim thereof and less thanthe. thicknessof the 13. In a can openerfa vertical support, a' cutting rollerrotatable upon the support, a feeding roller for engagement with theunder surface of a canrimcarried by the support and adjustably-'shiftable in a straight line toward and away from the axis of thecutting roller, means for rotating the feeding roller, means forshifting the feeding roller and meanscarried by and extending outwardlyfrom the support and overlying thenpper surface of the engaged canoutwardlyof the cutting roller and at opposite sides thereof forpreventing oscillation of the can while engaged between the cutting andfeeding rollers. l

14. In-a can opener, a vertical support, a cutting roller rotatable uponthe support, a feeding roller for engagement with the under surface of acan rim carried by the sup# shiftable in a straight line toward and awayfrom the axisof the cuttin ing roller, `a pair of arms carried by saidVertical sup ort and extending outwardly `'at opposite s1 es of thecutting. roller and adapted to overly a can topv to prevent oscillationof the can tion. v v

15. In a can opener, means for guiding and rotating a can in verticalposition and a cutting roller engagin the top of a can having itscutting edge in a plane at an angle to the axis of the can and theportion of its cutting edge which uppermost being most nearly adjacentsuch axis, said means for guiding and vrotating the can including afeeding roller having' its periphery lmurled for engagement with theundersurface of a can rim and-its outer face plane, the lowermostportion of the cutting.'

the oproller, means for rotating-the feeding ro er,v and means forshifting the feedduring the cuttingbpera` edge of the cutting rollerbeing spaced from. such' outer face a distance substantially equal tothe thickness of a can wall.

- 16. In a can opener, means for guiding `which is uppermost being mostnearly adjacent such axis, said means for guiding and rotating the canincluding a feeding' roller having its periphery knurled for engagementwith the under surface of a can'rlm and its outer face plane, thelowermost portion of `the' cutting edge of the cutting rollerbeingspaced from such outer face a distance substantially equal to thethickness of a can wall, whereby oscillation 'ofthe can toward and awayfrom the feeding roller is prevented and means engaging the can forpreventlng oscillation of the can 1n a plane paralleling the base of thefeeding roller.

17. I n a can opener, means for guiding and rotating a can in verticalposition and a4 cutting. roller engaging the top yof' a can engaged byting edge 1n a'plane at an angle to the axis of the can and the portionof its cutting edge which is uppermost being most nearly adjacentsuchaxis, said means for guiding and rotating the can including afeeding roller having its periphery knurled for engagementwith the undersurface of a can rim. and its'outer face plane, the lowermost portion ofthe cutting edgeof the cutting roller being spaced from such outer facea distance substantially equal` to the thickness of a can wall, wherebyoscillation of the can toward and away from the feeding roller .isprevented and means engaging the can for preventing oscillation rof thecan in a plane paralleling the base of the feeding roller, includingpair of arms carriedy by the support and extending at opposite sidesroller and overlying the rim close proximity thereto. l In testimonywhereof I affix my signature. THOMAS A. KILLMAN.

of the can in of the cutting said means' and having its cut-

